This invention relates generally to apparatus and methods for mounting equipment in vaults and particularly to apparatus and methods for mounting electrical equipment in underground vaults. Still more particularly, this invention relates to apparatus and methods for mounting electrical equipment, such as that used in telephonic communications systems, in underground vaults while including means for removing the equipment from the vault for providing access to the equipment.
It is becoming increasingly common for electrical utilities such as those which provide telephone service and electrical power to have underground electrical lines and, accordingly, underground equipment such as switching stations, transformers and the like. Many communities presently require such utilities to have all of their lines and associated equipment underground. Although having such equipment underground makes a positive contribution to the aesthetic appearance of a neighborhood and prevents exposure of the equipment to certain outdoor environmental hazards, is sometimes difficult for a person to gain access to underground equipment for maintenance and other purposes.
Underground telephone installations in particular, frequently require a person to gain access to equipment located in underground vaults having upper covers that are approximately flush with the ground level. Heretofore, the persons had to either physically enter the vault, which therefore had to be made large enough to accomodate the person and the equipment; or the equipment had to be lifted from the vault either manually or by use of machinery external to the vault. It is inconvenient, wasteful and unnecessarily expensive to place a relatively small piece of electrical equipment in an underground vault large enough to accomodate a human being merely for the purposes of servicing the equipment. Although the equipment may be relatively small, it may also be too heavy for an individual to easily lift without the aid of other equipment. The use of other equipment to lift the electrical apparatus from the vault requires that the equipment be transported from one vault to another for lifting the equipment from the vault.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an apparatus and method for mounting electrical equipment in underground vaults to provide convenient access to equipment mounted in a vault, which is conveniently and economically sized to accomodate the equipment without having the extra space necessary to accomodate a person in the vault.